


A Certain Kind Of Normal

by nhasablog



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU where everything is fine, Background Stony - Freeform, Beach Holidays, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Summer Vacation, Tickling, peter is a baby bi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 02:03:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14990384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nhasablog/pseuds/nhasablog
Summary: “We’ll get electrocuted if we’re in the water at the same time as him.”“We- what?” Peter looked at Thor, who didn’t seem to be listening to them. “We are?”“Haven’t you noticed that no one swims at the same time as him?”(Or, The Avengers go on vacation and Bucky and Sam play a trick on Peter that goes slightly overboard.)





	A Certain Kind Of Normal

Peter spent his first holiday with the Avengers at age 19, the summer after his freshman year of college, when things had finally managed to go back to a certain kind of normal. That phrase was of course quite subjective. Nothing was truly normal about Mr Stark flying them all off to Greece to rent out a private beach and spend a week under the scorching sun while hoping that no emergency would force them to take the private jet back to the States (or, in some people’s case, fly off in their suits if the emergency was closer).

They were all there, even people who weren’t technically part of the original team. Peter had frankly lost count of who counted as an Avenger and who was merely an associate at this point, but he reckoned anyone who was able to save people and were friends with the others would forever be one of them now.

After all, he hadn’t been an original Avenger himself.

The vastness of their group meant that you couldn’t hang out with everyone lest you wanted every interaction to last for five minutes (a slight exaggeration maybe). Thus, Peter stayed in the same group while occasionally seeing the others during meals, where they took up whole restaurants. He could only remember one instance where they had all been at the beach simultaneously, and that was the morning after they’d flown in, all drunk on exhaustion and in need of a vacation.

Four days later, things were different.

Mr Stark - though Peter did call him Tony occasionally now - had rented out a huge villa for them all (it was seriously almost bigger than MIT), and Peter was currently sitting by the pool, his feet in the water and face tilted upward. The others were off doing god knows what, so only Mr Wilson, Mr Barnes, Mr Thor and Mr Stark were around him now, and even they went in and out of the house constantly. A blur of motion.

“Are you sure you want me there?” Peter had asked Tony when the older man had called him during his finals to tell him about his plan.

“Of course I do,” Tony had replied, and Peter had heard noises in the background that told him Mr Stark hadn’t been alone. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you.”

“Do the others want me there?”

“Yes? Why are you being so self conscious about it.” A pause, his voice far away as he had said something to someone else. “You’ve been part of this team for, what? Four years now?”

“Yes, but-”

“You’re coming. I’ve already talked to May. I mean, unless you have other plans.”

Peter had had absolutely no plans.

“I know college has exhausted you.”

 _And crime fighting on top of it,_  he hadn’t added.

“Please come.”

So Peter had, but he still felt as if they all viewed him as a little kid having tagged along to his older sibling’s date or something just because their parents had arranged it. It didn’t necessarily help that everyone was doing their own things all over the place, but it did mean that usually people didn’t notice when he shut off, or walked off, in search for some relief.

He reckoned it was all in his head, but what a messy place that head could be.

“I haven’t been on many vacations,” a voice to his right suddenly said. “but I don’t think you’re supposed to be frowning.”

Peter glanced up, squinting to find Mr Barnes looking down at him. “It’s the sun,” he said, half a lie. “I forgot my sunglasses inside.”

“I see.” Bucky sat down beside him. Out of everyone Peter could have gotten close to, the very person who caused Mr Rogers to go against Mr Stark once had been the last one he’d considered. But if Tony could forgive and move on, so could Peter. Especially since it had been at the very start of his mentorship turned friendship with Tony. He couldn’t fight all his battles, especially not so belatedly.

Peter didn’t really hold many grudges anyway.

“Oh. Yeah, I see what you mean.” Bucky grimaced, closing one eye and laughing. “It’s slightly too bright to not scrunch up your whole face.”

Peter grinned, relieved. Discussing his problems was the last thing he wanted to do on an island in Greece. In fact, he wasn’t too keen on doing it on the island of Manhattan either.

“I once spent a whole day outside with my friend Ned,” he started, suddenly years away. “It was one of those extremely hot days. They weren’t necessarily rare in Queens, but it was so hot we could barely stand it.”

Bucky tilted his head, an indication that he was listening.

“We spent it at this park. Someone had set up a water sprinkler, so it was our only choice, really. I had my sunglasses on all day and came home to the most ridiculous tan I’ve ever seen.” He shook his head as Bucky laughed. “You could see exactly where they’d been on my face. Ever since then I sort of boycotted them, and now it’s a habit to not grab them.”

“That’s quite the backstory.”

“It was quite the tauma.”

“Getting a tan was a trauma?” Sam was suddenly there, sitting on his other side.

“No, the shape of the tan was.”

“Ah.”

“I was 13, so I guess not much had to happen for it to be a trauma.”

“Man, I don’t miss that age. Wasn’t that, like, two years ago for you?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha ha.”

“Hey, for all I know you’re like Stark and went to college at 15.”

“No one is like Mr Stark.”

And then Thor appeared. They truly did come as a group lately. If Peter had been unsure about whether he was bi before, seeing Thor in just his swimwear would certainly had caused the awakening. It was only a little embarrassing.

“I have just been informed that gods don’t tan,” he said, seemingly out of nowhere. “I have been applying lotions in vain.”

Sam burst out laughing. “Oh, man, that’s an ordeal.”

“But I am now aware that humans with darker skin need to use sun lotion as well, so it’s my duty to make sure you follow through, Wilson.”

Sam waved a hand at him. “I’ve been fine so far.”

“Might not want to risk it, though,” Bucky said. “Global warming is making the sun stronger.”

“I can be even stronger.”

“All right, Apollo.”

“More like Icarus,” Peter mumbled, and Sam squeezed his side.

“That’s right,” Sam said when Peter recoiled. “I know your weakness, so you better not be snarky, kid.”

Yeah, they definitely thought of him as a kid. As a 19 year old he felt almost offended. As a former Avengers fanboy, he was conflicted.

“Hey, hey, wait,” Bucky suddenly cried out, grabbing Peter’s arm. “Get your feet out of the water.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “You’ll only tickle them.”

Bucky’s mouth twitched. “If I wanted to tickle you I have plenty of skin available. Seriously, though. You see Thor?”

“He is right in front of me, so yes.”

“He’s about to get into the pool.”

“Like most people in this heat are.”

“He’s the god of thunder.”

“I’m not following.”

“We’ll get electrocuted if we’re in the water at the same time as him.”

“We- what?” Peter looked at Thor, who didn’t seem to be listening to them. “We are?”

“Haven’t you noticed that no one swims at the same time as him?”

Peter had thought it was because Thor kept asking them to race, and no one wanted to be so publicly defeated.

But Bucky’s words… they made sense.

Thor grabbed the ladder and Peter flew to his feet, literally pulling both Sam and Bucky with him just in time. Thor was soon entirely beneath the surface, emerging like the god he was, all glittering and hair flowing. Not that Peter noticed.

“That was close,” he said, heart hammering against his chest. “God, you should’ve told me earlier. What if the two of you hadn’t been here?”

Bucky was looking oddly at him, but Peter blamed it on their near death experience. Not even Spiderman could save him from that ruin.

“Peter Parker,” Sam was saying. “Our hero.”

“Well, technically Mr Barnes told-”

“All praise Peter Parker!”

Sam put an arm around him, fingers poking at his ribs despite how much Peter squirmed.

“You deserve to laugh for this heroic act,” he was saying just as Peter started giggling.

“Hey, come on!” he cried. “I’m too old for- no, no, wait!”

Bucky had joined, throwing his arm around his shoulders like Sam. His free hand was going to town on Peter’s waist.

That was how Mr Stark found them.

“Oh,” he said, and Peter could vaguely see him smirking at the scene. “Found new people to tickle you, have you?”

“Mr Stark, help!”

“In a minute. I’m so hot I could die.”

It all happened so quickly yet so slowly. Truly, you’d never imagine how a moment so brief could pass by in slow motion until you were in Peter’s position. All he knew was that Tony pulled his t-shirt off, stepped out of his flip flops, and moved toward the ladder to join Thor in the pool. All within seconds, yet Peter could practically see all their lives flash before his eyes.

“Mr Stark, no!”

But it was too late. The prodding fingers and laughter had slowed him down. Tony was already halfway into the water when he reacted.

And… nothing happened. No one was electrocuted. Mr Stark was still very much alive, blinking away water as he looked up at him, confused.

“I didn’t know it was that urgent,” he said, but all Peter could focus on was Sam and Bucky roaring with laughter.

“You should’ve seen your face,” Bucky was saying, barely comprehensible.

“You tricked me,” was all Peter said back. He wasn’t sure if he was mad or relieved. Maybe both.

“Sorry, kid,” Sam said, as cohesive as Bucky. “Couldn’t help it.”

They let him go, and Peter was left standing on his own, trying to gather his still frantic thoughts. His still racing heart.

“That was a low blow,” he finally said. “I genuinely thought he was about to die.”

Laughter died down, replaced by realizations.

“Oh, shit,” Bucky said. “Didn’t think of that.”

Tony swam over, demanding answers, which were sheepishly given. Tony’s frown matched Peter’s.

“Well, that was shitty,” he said, catching Peter’s eye. “But I’m sure it was born in a moment of peace, right? I mean, I also sometimes forget about my past and do things I’ll later regret. It’s never made with malice.”

“Still,” Sam said. “We should’ve known better. I’m sorry, Peter.”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky echoed, his voice barely above a whisper. It was their expressions, so horrified and tainted with shame, that made him forgive them.

Thor approached, as oblivious as ever. Really, it was as if he’d been on a whole other planet this entire time. “Who wants to race?”

* * *

 

Sam and Bucky didn’t seem to know how to act around him after that. The feeling was quite mutual, but while Peter could tell them over and over again that it was okay, they didn’t seem to believe him. They wanted to give him space and reassurance all at once.

It was a bit of a mess, and Peter, who had been relying on being able to disappear from time to time, was suddenly stalked. Quite literally stalked. The only difference being that Sam and Bucky announced themselves each time.

“Where are you going?” Bucky asked somewhere behind him, and Peter skidded to a stop.

“Nowhere,” he said, turning around to look at them. He didn’t want to tell them about the secret spot on the beach behind that hut where no one could see him, or the room on the top floor of the villa that no one but he ever went into. “Just taking a walk.”

“You looked pretty damn determined,” Sam said. “Like you had a destination in mind.”

He shrugged and allowed them to catch up. “I like walking after dinner.”

“They do say it’s the best activity to do after eating,” Sam said.

Bucky shifted. “Mind if we join you?”

“Sure.”

“You sure?”

“Sure.”

They walked, Peter sending the hut a longing look when they passed it. He wasn’t wearing the right shoes for a walk, and had to keep stopping to kick sand off of his flip flops. He was starting to feel agitated.

“Could you say something?” he finally gritted out. His voice was oddly loud in the silence.

“Uh, what do you want us to say?” Bucky asked.

“Anything. You don’t ask to join someone’s walk to remain quiet the entire time.”

“We just wanted to make sure you’re all right,” Sam said.

“Well, you didn’t ask.”

“Are you all right?”

“Right now? No. I’m not.” Peter wasn’t sure why he was telling them this.

“Do you want to be alone?” Sam responded.

“I wanted to, but now we might as well have a heart to heart.” He’d learnt that those were good from time to time.

They sat down on the beach without preamble, all three slumping down, tired. Unsure of everything. Peter had never been good at holding grudges, but he never knew how to let go of hurt either.

“I know you didn’t mean to be cruel,” he started. “I know that, and I know you’re beating yourselves up for what you had thought would be a harmless joke.”

“A shitty joke,” Bucky said, but Peter held up his hand to silence him.

“Maybe so, but how should you have known Mr Stark would try to jump in while you were occupied? I mean, of course I was angry with you, but I don’t need you to keep hovering like this.” He ran a hand through his hair. “In fact, I feel like you’re making it worse. Just treat me like you normally do.”

So they tried. They tried very hard, and Peter appreciated it. He was starting to understand how Mr Stark had felt when everyone was suddenly back and trying to mend everything they’d broken. Though he reckoned this was slightly less dramatic.

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Tony told him on their last evening. They were gathered for a late night swim, all together at last. “How have you liked it?”

“I liked it a lot.”

“But it overwhelmed you.”

“Occasionally,” Peter admitted. “And I had a bit of a rough patch with Mr Barnes and Mr Wilson for a moment, but it’s all better now.”

“Oh, yeah. That.” Tony turned to watch the ocean. “Have you forgiven them?”

“I have. They seem to be genuinely sorry.”

“Good.” He nudged his side. “Fighting among ourselves wasn’t exactly how I had envisioned this.”

“There’s always next holiday.” He paused, adding. “I mean, that’s assuming there will be one. And that I’ll be invited.”

“You’re always invited.”

Peter watched Steve and Bucky throw Sam into a wave. Watched how he emerged, laughing. Human beings who make mistakes, just like him.

“I know this is different,” Tony said. “But I once thought I’d never forgive Steve.”

Peter remembered the shock of seeing them kiss for the first time. He knew they’d made amends, but he hadn’t realized just how close they’d grown. How much love they still had within them.

“It took a while,” Tony continued. “But I realized that if someone is truly sorry they will show you, and Steve did.”

“He better.”

Tony barked out a  laugh. “Remind me to not mess with you.” He put an arm over his shoulders. “I guess what I’m saying is, forgive but don’t forget. Three’s a habit and all that.”

“It was harmless,” Peter said, suddenly tired.

“Yeah, but you had the right to be upset.”

Thor joined the others, and Peter and Tony watched how he threw Bucky into a wave next, stepping aside as quickly as he could as Bucky came crashing back, laughing. Carefreeness, even in their troubled minds.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you checking Thor out all week, by the way,” Tony said easily, and Peter blushed so hard he couldn’t even blame it on his sunburn.

“I didn’t,” he replied lamely, and Tony laughed.

“You so did.”

“Mr Stark-”

“Don’t deny it.”

Fingers finding his lower belly, scribbling so lightly he almost screamed in surprise. Giggling when they didn’t stop, he tried to bat them away. “Don’t.”

“Admit you find him attractive. Come on, I won’t judge.”

“Okay, okay! He’s attractive, just stop!”

Tony did, grinning smugly. “Can’t blame you. He had that effect on me too when I first met him.”

Peter crossed his arms. “Thanks for the blackmail material.”

“Oh, I have way worse on you, don’t worry.”

* * *

 

The private jet was big enough to allow them to walk around freely, but the amount of people made it harder, so Peter tried to remain in his seat for the majority of the time. But the flight was long, and after a while quite boring, so he found himself on his feet before he could even remember getting up, suddenly unsure of what to do.

“Entertain me,” he demanded, standing before Bucky, who was conveniently sitting beside Sam; a choice that had made them all groan at first.

“Say please,” Bucky replied drily.

“Please entertain me.”

“That’s better.”

“I’m not entertained.”

He snorted. “Sit down, you pest.”

Peter did, but he made sure to sit between them just to be annoying.

Sam poked his shoulder blade. “You’re asking for tickles, you know.”

He jerked away. “I do not.”

“Why’d you willingly sit so close to both of us then?”

“I just need to be loved.”

“Aw.” They both threw their arms around him - something lots of people kept doing, not that he was complaining - and pulled him into an exaggerated hug. “We love you.”

He squirmed. “I’m sunburned.”

“Of course you are,” Sam said.

“I haven’t forgotten that Thor made you use sun lotion,” Peter shot back.

“I haven’t forgotten that you spent more time ogling him than not.”

“Wha- Tony!”

“It wasn’t me!”

Bucky poked his chest. “We have eyes, you know.”

He crossed his arms. “You’re both totally jealous.”

“How did you know?”

They were okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my [tumblr](http://nhasablog.tumblr.com).


End file.
